Macs...

There are a few XServe's on active duty inside Peer1 in Harbour Centre… still the whole 5% market share I'd estimate.

Well whaddaya know. I really should dial back the blanket statements about apple I guess.

This is NBR - blanket statements are expected.

Apple was one of the "pioneers" of networking. It was ugly, it was slow, but it worked.

Another big thing Apple did early on was make the laser printer popular. They used Canon's core engine, and put out a printer that was a tad expensive, but awesome compared to any of the daisy wheel and dot matrix printers that were available.

When are the Intel based desktops coming? It would be great to be able to dual boot, at least for development purposes.

And how about Virtual PC? It's pretty slow on a non Intel based Mac. Will there be any performance improvements on an Intel based Mac?

uh, well the os leaked and has been "out" for like 6 months now…

And how about Virtual PC? It's pretty slow on a non Intel based Mac. Will there be any performance improvements on an Intel based Mac?

http://www.kberg.ch/q/

Q (which is qemu for os x) shows great promise…

The reason Macs dominate the journalism/media/audio world is because a long time ago you couldn't get the same sort of software on pc's. […] It's got nothing to do with stability.

things easier to do on macs out of the box to this day:

- use the gnu/bsd tools, including apache
- connect to a wireless network (the interface in windows for this still sucks imo)
- sync your contacts and calendar events to a web-accessible server (if you have .mac): example
- edit HD
- create a non-hideous DVD
- not get affected by malware/spyware/viruses/trojans

fellow mac users, these freeware/shareware applications will make your computing life even more pleasant :D :

http://www.bronsonbeta.com/mailappetizer/
http://wincent.com/a/products/synergy-classic/
http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/
http://www.icalviewer.com/
http://www.stclairsw.com/DefaultFolderX/index.html

A canned Windows system will be just as stable - probably more stable - than a Mac setup. But when you have an OS that will install on a bazillion different hardware configurations, the probability of instability due to hardware/drivers goes up quite a bit. This is a fact that anyone writing OS level code is clearly aware of, and unfortunately most people fail to understand.

which OS has most drivers in kernel space again? (yes, apple has some drivers in the kernel, but most common drivers are in user-space. now reexamine your statement about drivers and supported hardware… http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Porting/Conceptual/PortingDrivers/unix-model/chapter_2_section_2.html)

which OS has most drivers in kernel space again? (yes, apple has some drivers in the kernel, but most common drivers are in user-space. now reexamine your statement about drivers and supported hardware… http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Porting/Conceptual/PortingDrivers/unix-model/chapter_2_section_2.html)

What do you mean "most common drivers"? Video drivers? Hard disk drivers? NIC drivers? What's a "common driver"?

There's no way any OS could stick a video driver at ring 3 and have any kind of decent performance.

What do you mean "most common drivers"? Video drivers? Hard disk drivers? NIC drivers? What's a "common driver"?

There's no way any OS could stick a video driver at ring 3 and have any kind of decent performance.

HID and peripheral (printers, scanners, etc.). apple's IOkit is a beautiful thing…

things easier to do on macs out of the box to this day:

- use the gnu/bsd tools, including apache
- connect to a wireless network (the interface in windows for this still sucks imo)
- sync your contacts and calendar events to a web-accessible server (if you have .mac): example
- edit HD
- create a non-hideous DVD
- not get affected by malware/spyware/viruses/trojans

fellow mac users, these freeware/shareware applications will make your computing life even more pleasant :D :

http://www.bronsonbeta.com/mailappetizer/
http://wincent.com/a/products/synergy-classic/
http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/
http://www.icalviewer.com/
http://www.stclairsw.com/DefaultFolderX/index.html

I'll have to check out those links, thanks for posting them!

As for out-of-the-box, what exactly does that mean? I could order a Dell PC pimped with software etc. and it would be considered out-of-the-box. Everything you've listed is just as easily doable on such a setup, except for maybe the apache stuff (which requires a certain level of competency to configure properly anyways, which disqualifies 95% of the computer users out there).

Connecting to a wireless network - clicking one icon in the system tray.
.MAC - don't you have to pay for that? Outlook express coupled with Plaxo (both free) do exactly the same thing just as easily.
video editing - this is where having the pc loaded with software at the factory comes in to play. It's still out of the box.
malware/virsuses etc - out of the box pc's come preinstalled with antivirus/anti spyware stuff and so that's not an issue either.

I'm not suggesting pc's are better, I'm defending my argument that pc's and macs are on a level playing field now. Macs just look nicer :)

Therefore,

Mac = Pc

Looks = +1

Mac+1[HTML_REMOVED]Pc

Mac[HTML_REMOVED]Pc

I know I know… I should be a rocket scientist.

haha yeah that's also what I've been saying - the only difference between macs and pc's now are aesethic. diehard fanboys that look to performance and usability as reasons to tout their platform superiority are just full of beans and really don't have any clue.

When are the Intel based desktops coming? It would be great to be able to dual boot, at least for development purposes.

I don't think a dual boot will be possible on the apple hardware, apple is rumoured to be using something other than a traditional bios, so win-xp won't be able to boot on it.

on the other hand, if you are willing to violate a couple of laws

you can hack the dev release of OS-X86 and run it. It doesn't recognize a lot of the hardware out there, but I was able to get my box up and running just for kicks.

I don't think a dual boot will be possible on the apple hardware, apple is rumoured to be using something other than a traditional bios, so win-xp won't be able to boot on it.

Been done already actually.

To fuel the fire, tycho's second post on the subject:

I'd never used one of the new iMacs before I bought it, and though we've added dialogue here to grease the wheels I thought Apple Enthusiasts might be amused to know that I spent almost five entire minutes trying to turn it on.

On Friday I described the PC using a patented "wilderness terminology," and I wanted to expand on that thought somewhat. I don't think that every PC user is locked into some kind of self-abusive cycle. I think that for most PC users, particularly gamers with no genuine recourse, their "choice" of platform isn't really what you'd call an act of volition. It's the default. I mean, right? It's what emerges from the tap. All we ask is that it be wet.

In this, it does not disappoint.

The frontier I spoke about, largely a memory now for most of us, has moved on: there are men who abide in those frozen steppes, and their banner is the penguin. I used to "camp" with my cousin in his backyard, we would tie a tarp over a picnic table and in the morning my auntie Shoko ("Sho-chan") would bring us French Toast. Certainly, there are exceptions. But Windows these days represents roughly that level of "hard livin'."

There was a period where I did cleave to Windows as a platform, and it was largely as a response. Even when an Apple product set my loins ablaze, their marketing message always steeled my resolve against them. Assuming their "Megahertz Myth" methodology was ever sound, it became less so as PC processors began to skyrocket in speed and performance. Nevermind that AMD used largely the same message, it was about not liking Apple and I became very good at it. What I have come to realize is that even an unctuous, sometimes deceptive clock is still right twice a day. They've made an unbelievably transparent computing experience that I actually look forward to. Their willingness to just slough off the antique parts of the platform, though no doubt turbulent for the faithful, have allowed them to package the most genuinely modern computing product on the market.

Been done already actually.

got a link? the stuff I have seen, it hasn't been done successfully yet.